The initial reaction was much rejoicing, and I rode the writing high. Of course, you have to come plummeting down from the heights at some point. For me, it didn't take too long.
Mainly, this is due to the last two weeks of massive writing binges. I know many writers who can write 3000-5000 (or more) daily. Yay for them! (Not a sarcastic yay. I'm happy for them, and a little envious.) And in most cases, they worked up to that -- one rarely starts at such amounts.
I'm used to about 1000-1500 words a day, and usually about 3 days per week (let's not have a discussion on increasing my writing productivity -- for now, that's my usual, and my "day job" includes a three-year-old who's particularly bull-headed, and reminded me just how much with an hour long fit this morning). Over the last two weeks, I've written over 19,000 words. That's 9,500 average per week. More than twice as much as my usual writing output.
And what compounds it, is that two of the days were 4000-word days, 1 day a 3000-word day, and then my final day of 2600 words (and several 1000-1500-word days).
Yes, writer burn out does exist. I'm not saying that these kinds of numbers will never be my norm. But right now it was like a massively long sprint. My side is aching and I can barely breathe. (Side note: I'm not a runner, so a long sprint for me is like a block - lol. XD)
And I am feeling the flames. Crispy writer brain. I can't keep this up without a break.
I need time to recover physically and mentally. Heck, I'm finding it harder than usual to write a sensical (this is not a real word -- my brain can't think of how to word this right now, though... please don't make it) blog post with the usual toddler interruptions.
Of course, I can't take a break yet. I have to go through the draft and fix a few things that I already know need fixing (I need to do this by Sunday, so more sprinting is likely). Then I can send it off to my beta readers.
Then, yes, I can take a break. A short one. Do you think a week will be enough to recharge the writing/revising batteries?
Oh, and this doesn't mean I get a week off. Aside from the toddler who never lets me have a minute off, I also have other writing tasks to tackle (my developmental editing plan for Haunted Unicorn Publishing, cover art for Hell On Wheels, tweaking the cover and back matter for Hell Hath No Fury, critiques, another blog post... among other things). I should also consider cleaning the house.
But right now I really just need some "no actual writing" time. I love writing to no end, but burn out is a real thing, honest.
Let's hope my brain doesn't get much crispier before I finish on Sunday, or my hubbie might need to pull out the fire extinguisher. =P
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